Chapter Two

"And you've felt nothing since Tenchi brought you back from Karasu?"

Washu eyed her companion thoughtfully, her brow furrowed with a mixture of consternation and intrigue as she glanced her companion up and down. "Nothing at all?"

"Nothing." The young woman sighed, glancing at the palms of her hand beneath the artificial light of the Juraian chamber. "Not even the vaguest flicker. Just...dead."

Washu paused, and a thoughtful look touched her green eyes.

"I see." She said at length. "And this has never happened to you before, Ryoko? You've never left a battle feeling so drained you couldn't muster your magic? Not even a little?"

"No." Ryoko shook her head, leaning up against the wall as she ran an idle finger over the angry red weal that scarred her right wrist. "But then again, I've never actually died before. I mean, as far as I know. I mean...well, my heart stopped aboard Karasu. And that's never happened to me before, obviously. If it had, well, I'd be dead."

She rubbed her temples. "I think. This is just confusing me now, Washu."

"Well, it seems simple enough to me." Washu took Ryoko's other hand in hers, glancing at it, then letting it fall back down by the girl's side. "Obviously you've lost your magic. Simple, really."

"Washu!" Ryoko exclaimed, irritation sparking in her amber eyes. "That's not why I came to you, you know! If I'd wanted someone to state the obvious at me I'd have asked Mihoshi! I thought you might actually have something intelligent to say about it!"

"Well, short of poking you with needles and taking a lot of test samples, I don't have much data to work with." Washu responded calmly. "Plus, incase it escaped your notice, I'm not a doctor. I'm not really interested in nursing you through your wailings and moanings, if you want the truth. I've had enough of it already, and the only reason I'm talking to you about this right now is because I've reached an impasse in my latest project and I need some white noise to clear my head. If you're worried about it, see a proper physician. Juraian medicine is at the pinnacle of modern science, you know. They can probably help you more than I can."

"I don't want their help." Ryoko folded her arms across her chest, meeting her companion's nonchalant gaze with a glare of her own. "Washu, have you seen how they look at me? How they talk about me? They all know who I am and what I've done. I'm worse than a demon to them. I'm a looter, a raider, a destroyer, a thief. And more things, too. I don't like this planet and I want to leave. How am I supposed to know if they give me poison instead of a remedy? They might, you know. And dammit, I'm fed up of being grounded! I need to fly!"

"You need a smack in the mouth." Washu said archly. "Have you listened to yourself talking? You should be ashamed of yourself, Ryoko. If they have things to say about you, well, they're probably true things and I thought a woman who was willing to risk her life to protect the universe could take a few little insults about her past crimes. Or was I wrong? Maybe you didn't risk your life for the universe after all. Maybe you just did it to impress Tenchi."

She paused, narrowing her eyes as she read the mixture of expressions that crossed Ryoko's face at her words.

"Well, if that was your aim, it worked." She added. "You should cheer up."

She turned to leave, and Ryoko groaned, burying her head in her hands.

"You are the most annoying woman I know, sometimes." She said darkly. "Washu, I'm asking for your help. I'm not asking for your sympathy or your comments on my friendship with Tenchi. I'm asking someone who allegedly knows something about these things if there's a way to get my powers functioning again. I don't trust the Juraians. I thought at least I could trust you to be straight with me."

"And I have been." Washu reminded her. "Ryoko, there's nothing I can do to bring your magic back. If it comes, it comes. If it doesn't, well, then it doesn't. It's Jurai magic, we both know that now. I'm not Juraian. And I'm not a witch doctor, I'm a scientist. I don't dabble in tree-hugging more than I can help."

"All right." Ryoko crossed her legs, leaning up against the white of the chamber wall. "I get it. You haven't a clue how this all works and you don't know what's switched it off. That must really bother you, huh? Not knowing the answer to something right away?"

"Believe me, Ryoko, you are the least of my concerns." Washu told her simply. "Now can I get back to my own work, please? You're alive, and that should be more than enough to be going along with. Don't be greedy. You took a beating against Haki. Maybe you did exhaust your capabilities. It's not like you've ever had any kind of training on how to use your magic. Stunted and bastardised, that's what I'd call it - if it's meant to be any part Jurai Power then you really let yourself go when you were younger."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that if you are - as Tenchi and Ayeka say - Kagato's daughter, you've a long way to go before you're even close to matching your father's power." Washu said bluntly. "In the one encounter you had with him, he brushed you aside like a mere moth flitting around a flame. And you couldn't even imprison Haki on your own, not even with the help of three extremely powerful gemstones. Does it matter if your magic does come back? You don't know how to use it properly, so it will probably only wind up getting you killed, anyway."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Who knows? Maybe it's psychological." She continued. "You took a hammering and you lost your nerve. It happens. I've seen it many times. Not everyone is cut out to be a hero, Ryoko. Sometimes it's just better to cut your losses and walk away. And I have other things to do." She added briefly. "So I'll leave you to think about that."

Before Ryoko could respond, she left the room, and the pirate muttered a curse under her breath, clambering off the impossibly neat bed and walking slowly across the room to the balcony. For a moment she just stood there, watching the sun dipping lower and lower over the horizon.

"Psychological." She muttered. "I have not lost my nerve! I'm not a coward. I've never been a coward! And who cares if Kagato is my father? Can I help it if I didn't inherit everything he could do? She talks about him like he was some kind of paragon, when we all know that's not the case."

She glanced at her scarred arm again, then paused. Slowly she pushed up the edges of her blouse, running a finger along the faded and jagged line that marked her one and only encounter with her father.

She remembered the combat vividly, and her brows drew together as she recalled how easily he had knocked her aside. And yet, she reminded herself, she had not run from the fight. Even wounded, she had ferried Tenchi through Juraian defences and had helped him rescue Ayeka from the usurper's clutches. No, she was no coward. This was not a matter of nerve. This was a matter of exhaustion, pure and simple.

"But can it really be gone from inside of me?" She wondered aloud. "Is it all that time in the police cell, cuffed and unable to use my magic? Perhaps I'm out of practice...I lost my edge. Or maybe those gems were more than just amplifiers for my power. Maybe they drained it, instead. Maybe that's what they do...they suck the life out of you."

She sighed, leaning up against the wooden railing.

"Or Karasu sucked it out. One or the other." She amended. "Oh, this is stupid. Without my magic I'm stranded on Jurai! I can't leave without grovelling and begging for help and I'm not going to do that - not in a million years! And yet, if I don't have my magic, I can't communicate with Ryo Ohki. If I can't speak to her, I can't fly my ship. And if I can't fly my ship..."

She trailed off, shaking her head.

"Staying here is not an option." She decided, gripping the rail more tightly with both hands as she clambered carefully up onto it, swinging her legs over the side and perching there for a moment, getting her bearings and examining the ground below her feet. "Whatever Washu says, this planet hates me and I hate it's stupid class system and it's pathetic obsession with manners and etiquette. I don't want to be involved in Ayeka's wedding...I just want to take Tenchi and get out of here. If he'll come with me, that is...and I did think from our chat yesterday that he...he might."

She pondered on this happy thought for a moment, then forced it away, determination crossing her face as she glanced down at the ground below. She had been dismissed from the Royal Infirmary that morning, and, upon discovering her dubious connections to the Royal Line, the Emperor had ordered that she be given quarters among the upper echelons of the tree-like palace, as befitted someone of royal blood. It didn't matter what Azusa did, though, she knew that. On Jurai, Ryoko would always be a space pirate, and whatever she had done to help rescue their future Queen was not enough to make up for past crimes.

"Well, I guess I can't blame them." She admitted ruefully. "I caused a fair few messes and robbed a hell of a lot of banks and other joints while I was skimming round the universe. Lots of those places were Jurai dependants and trading outposts. They must've lost a bundle in economy because of me. I probably deserve them to hate me, and Washu is right about that. I shouldn't care if they do. After all, this room is comfortable and the food is good...I should just be living it up, that's all. I don't care what other people think of me, anyway. Especially now I know what Tenchi thinks of me. Noone else matters."

She kicked her legs idly, glancing up at the darkening sky.

"Not being able to fly is making me crabby and strange." She decided with a sigh. "And not having Ryo Ohki buzzing at the back of my brain is making me feel isolated. Those things I can't explain to Washu. She wouldn't get it."

She gazed out over the landscape, then she set her teeth, releasing her grip on the railing and propelling herself forward into nothing. For the briefest of moments, she almost felt like she was flying again. But try as she might, the impulse to soar through the air - something which had come so easily to her from the age of nine or ten - was gone, and with a heavy thud she crashed to the ground, letting out a cry of pain as her battered body protested at the further abuse.

She struggled into a sitting position, gazing up to the ledge from which she had jumped. A bitter smile touched her lips.

"For anyone else that would have been suicide." She muttered. "What in hell was I thinking? That it'd all just come back to me if I jumped? Get a grip on yourself, Ryoko!"

"Ryoko?"

A voice from above startled her and her gaze flitted down a few levels, red touching her cheeks as she recognised Tenchi's face peering out over his balcony. "Ryoko, are you out there? What's going on - are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm just re-learning the basics of flying, that's all." Ryoko called back up. "Nothing major. Don't mind me!"

"Flying?" Tenchi looked confused. "Have your powers come back, then?"

"Nope."

"But you said..."

"Yep, I know." Ryoko pulled herself painfully to her feet, rubbing her aching back as she did so. "Don't try and fly unless you really know what you're doing. That's lesson number one."

"Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah. I'm tougher than that." Ryoko paused, eying the gap between her and Tenchi's balcony, three floors up. Then she pulled a trailing vine from a nearby plant, looping it and tossing it up onto the highest branch she could locate. Once she had made sure it was secure, she gave it a firm tug, then carefully began to climb her way up it, leaning out to grab Tenchi's balcony as it came within her reach. Tenchi let out an exclamation, hurrying to help her over the railing.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?"

"Yes. Next question?" Ryoko dropped onto the hard balcony floor, letting out her breath in a rush. "I'm frustrated and I need out. You're my only distraction, Tenchi. I couldn't fly up here, so I figured I'd be resourceful and find another way up. That's all."

"You could have taken the stairs, you know." Tenchi held out a hand to her, gently pulling her to her feet.

"My way was quicker." Ryoko shrugged, dusting herself down and grimacing ruefully as her muscles twinged. "Ow. Let me tell you something, Tenchi. Never jump off a balcony if you don't know what you're landing on. It hurts. A lot."

"You jumped?" Tenchi's eyes drifted upwards towards her room, his expression one of horror. "Ryoko, your room is miles up! You could have killed yourself!"

"What, again?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "It seems to be my motif at the moment, don't you think?"

"It's not funny, you know. You have to stop playing games with your life. You're not indestructable!"

"Perhaps not." Ryoko conceded. "But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, I'm fed up with being grounded. It's driving me crazy...I can't relax or keep still. I don't like sleeping in those stupid flat Juraian beds. I want to sleep out with the stars on the highest branch of this stupid tree-palace. But I can't get up there and it's frustrating. I feel trapped and I can't even take Ryo Ohki and leave. What would you do? At least it was worth a try, jumping from that ledge. There was always a chance I'd wake it up."

"Well, you didn't, so don't do it again." Tenchi scolded her, leading her further into his room and pulling across the curtain that divided the bedroom from the balcony itself. "And you do know how much trouble we'll be in with Ayeka's father if they find out you're up here, don't you? They really don't like the whole concept of room sharing on Jurai...we could cause a scandal."

"Chance would be a fine thing." Ryoko dropped down onto Tenchi's bed, glancing at her scuffed nails. "Relax, Tenchi. I'm not going to put you in some embarrassing situation. At least, not tonight. But only because this is Ayeka's house - well, tree house - and if I don't watch my step, they might not keep pushing for my pardon to go through with the Galaxy Police. Washu and Kiyone both think it's just a formality...but I won't push my luck too far."

"Well, be careful and keep your voice down." Tenchi told her. "You can't teleport out of here if someone comes, so it's better that noone hears us talking and comes to investigate what's going on."

"I know." Ryoko fell silent for a moment, a pensive look touching her face. Then she turned thoughtful golden eyes on her companion.

"Tenchi, what if do never get my magic back?" She asked softly. "If I can't fly Ryo Ohki and I am grounded. What then?"

"What do you mean?"

"I promised you a trip through space...and a ride back to Earth." Ryoko sighed. "And right now I can't deliver either one."

"I'm in no hurry." Tenchi assured her. "Relax and take your time. I promised Ayeka I'd be at her wedding, in any case. That doesn't come off for another week, so you shouldn't worry about it, Ryoko. I think your magic will come back, anyway. It's just tired out, that's all. I mean, mine is hardly consistant all of the time...when it's there, it's there in force, but when it isn't, well, I don't really know how to bring it out of me again. This is just the same thing for you. Prison knocked you out of shape. That's all...and those gems didn't help."

"Well, they're nothing to do with me now." Ryoko said fervently. "And I don't care if I never see them again."

"Me either." Tenchi admitted. "They did their job, but I'd rather they were as far away from you as possible from now on."

"Really?" Ryoko stared up at him, and Tenchi nodded.

"The way the Dark Heart clung to you, it was like your skin was magnetic and it couldn't resist the pull." He agreed. "And they did so much to you...it seems safer to me if you never go near them."

"Yes, I agree." Ryoko admitted. "Whatever they are and wherever they came from, they're back in Jurai hands now and that's where they should be."

She looked rueful.

"Only now, thanks to them, getting back to my room from yours without being seen is going to pose a challenge." She observed. "Any ideas?"

"Not really." Tenchi's expression became sheepish. "Or not that would get you back upstairs, anyway. Short of climbing up there the way you got in here..."

"I'd rather not."

"Well, then I don't know." Tenchi spread his hands. Ryoko frowned.

"I guess I could just sleep here tonight, and sneak out really early in the morning." She mused. Tenchi stared at her.

"I thought you said we weren't going to cause a scandal!"

"And we won't." Ryoko shook her head. "I'll sleep on the balcony. It's pretty out there, anyhow. Noone will see me if the curtains are drawn and there aren't many Juraians who go flying around the planet at night. I know that much from childhood experience. It'll be okay, Tenchi...truth is I'm pretty beat, and I don't fancy another long climb. Getting around is so much easier when you have magic. I never knew how much I took it for granted."

"Well...maybe." Tenchi looked doubtful. "But it's a risk, Ryoko. Are you sure you won't get caught?"

"No." Ryoko admitted. "But I at least have a chance of sleeping if I know you're around, Tenchi. I'm less bothered about my magic when I've you to distract me."

She pinkened.

"I really need to stop saying things like that."

"I see." Tenchi pursed his lips contemplatively. Then he shrugged.

"All right." he agreed at length. "But be careful, all right? Don't let anyone see you."

"I'll do my best." Ryoko paused, then she flung her arms around him, sending him a playful grin.

"One day, I won't be out on the balcony." She murmured. "But I can wait. Sweet dreams, Tenchi. I'll see you tomorrow."

------------------------------------------------

The world was black.

From somewhere deep in the darkness, there was the sound of someone crying, but try as she might, Sasami could not see who it was. In the distance, there was the occasional flash of blue and red light, then there was silence once more.

She glanced down, seeing the earth beneath her feet was charred and blackened, the ash rising up in a cloud of dust with every step she took. As she turned her gaze to the landscape around her, she recognised the charcoal remains of burnt trees, one after another, and as she walked through the burnt out forest, the wails became louder. There was more than one voice, she realised that now, as she reached the very end of the path, pausing to gaze up at the big twisted tree that loomed large in front of her.

"Souja."

Someone whispered the name inside of her head, and almost in a trance, she put out her hands, touching the trunk of the tortured old tree. Pain and anguish flooded her senses and she gasped, struggling not to drown in the tree's misery. Fighting to pull her hands away, she realised they had become melded to the tree, and as the forest crumbled to dust around her, the sobs began to quiet.

"Tsunami" The voice whispered.

Sasami opened her eyes, staring up at the roof of her own chamber back in the Jurai Royal Palace. Drenched with sweat and with her heart pounding in her chest, she sat up in bed, pulling the blanket more tightly around her as a cold shiver wracked through her young form.

"Another dream!" She murmured, tears in her eyes as she remembered what she had seen. "I thought that they would stop, now we were back on Jurai. The battle with Haki is over, Tsunami. Why are you still making me see these things?"

There was no response, only the gentle murmur of trees outside the palace, and Sasami sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back against the wall.

"This has to stop." She muttered. "Tsunami, you have to stop doing this to me. Either talk to me straight or don't tell me at all - but these dreams are scaring me and I don't like them!"

Again there was no answer, and Sasami's mouth twisted into a determined line.

"Then tomorrow I'm going to find out everything about you, like it or not!" She threatened. "If you won't tell me, and Washu won't tell me, I'm going to find out exactly why you're doing this to me and what you expect from me! Because this is my life too, Tsunami! I'm not just here to be your puppet and if that's what you want, you can just leave me alone!"